When someone brings a grain offering to the LORD, his offering is to be of fine flour. He is to pour oil on it, put incense on it … - Leviticus 2:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 30, 2012): Leviticus 2

A good friend of mine has started a new ritual just before he begins to study the weeks text for his sermon. The ritual is found in a specifically worded prayer written by someone else – and one that asks the Holy Spirit to give insight into the text. It is not that prayer had been absent previously, but our traditions often frown on the ritualized use of prayers. Prewritten prayers are often seen as lacking intent; the fear is that sooner or later they simply become words without real meaning – they become words that are just spoken like a magic talisman so that we can attain our goal.

But I think that we are a little hard on ritualized prayer. Prewritten prayers are important; not to replace the ones that we speak ‘from the heart,’ but as an additional element to our spiritual lives. Often the ritualized prayers remind us of the important things that we need in our lives – the very things that we are sometimes tempted to overlook. And ritualized prayer is maybe an unexpected component of the sacrificial system.

The instructions for the giving of the sacrifice were specific. In the case of the grain offering it is to be only an offering of fine flour – the best flour available because only the best can be used as a sacrifice. And yet even that is not enough. Even the best needs something more. So the instruction for the grain sacrifice is that it needs to include oil and incense – representing the Holy Spirit and prayer. They served as ritualized reminders of what was really important.

Ritual still does the same for us – even ritualized words help to serve as a reminder of what is really important. And for my friend, the prayer he has begun to pray is more than just about going through the motions – it is the reminder of the essence of the task on which he is about to embark.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Leviticus 3

“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When any of you brings an offering to the LORD, bring as your offering an animal from either the herd or the flock. – Leviticus 1:2

Today’s Scripture Reading (September 29, 2012): Leviticus 1

I have always been uneasy with the idea of selling tickets for things that happen inside the walls of the church. It is not that I have never sold tickets for church events. I admit that I have – for instance, there have been certain youth functions that have happened inside the church that tickets have been a necessary way of covering expenses. But at the same time, I have also endeavored to make sure that it was not a lack of money that caused someone to miss the event. I have always tried to find other ways of covering the cost in extreme cases. But, still, the uneasiness continued.

There is a reason why church’s do not have (or at least should not have) a cover charge.  And it is not because that then no one would come. It is because the idea of taking an offering – of paying the dues or the tithe - has to be voluntary. We are not selling our services to the highest bidder, but rather we are making them accessible to all. God will never force us to be generous; he only promises us that if we are, he will bless us richly in return.

And that was the way it was under the old sacrificial system. The people brought their sacrifices freely - each man according to his wealth, offering the sacrifice at the entrance to the place of worship. There were no provisions for a temple tax collector to go out among the people and make sure that the sacrifice was paid. It was a voluntary act of worship that arose from the heart of the worshiper.

And this voluntary sacrifice would be the hallmark of true religion until the Messiah chose to become substitute sacrifice that would end the need for sacrifices. He laid down his own life, of his own accord (no one forced him to do it) so that we could be truly free.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Leviticus 2

“Set up the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, on the first day of the first month. – Exodus 40:2

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 28, 2012): Exodus 40

I love those advertisements for air fresheners that will give your car that “just off the lot” smell. Your car might be an old piece of junk, but it can smell like you just bought it. Part of my fascination with the air freshener is that that sought after new car smell really does not smell all that great. We like it (even I like it) because in our minds have we made the connection between the smell and something new. The problem with the air fresheners is actually that when we use them for our old heaps we begin to lose that connection between the smell and what is new. And once that happens, the air fresheners begin to lose their appeal.

It is really the same reason that we have for not making resolutions, either at the beginning of a new year, or at the beginning of a new stage in life. The reason we do not make resolutions is not because our lives are already the best that they can be – even though I know that is exactly what we tell our friends. The real reason is that the past has taught us that we will never make the needed change anyway, so why bother making the resolution.

And the real problem is that we are focusing on the past – on what is behind. But God’s emphasis is always on what is yet to come – the future. The past is finished and the only thing that we have any control over is the future. Israel had emigrated away from Egypt. They had spent about six months just in the process of leaving and learning to be a gathering of free people. It would have been near the end of that initial first six month period that the law would have been given to Moses on the Mountain of God. And for the last five and a half months they had been busy building the tabernacle and learning the ways of their God. It was a path that they would never have to take again. And now they had a couple of weeks to get ready for their future. The consecration of the tabernacle would actually take place on the first day of the second year of their nation’s existence. And it was designated as a time to look forward.

In Christ, it is the continual reminder that we live with. Yesterday is done and there is nothing that we can do to change it. But we are responsible for what we do today – and for everyday we as we walk into God’s future. It is summed up by Paul as he said “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14)

   

 Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Leviticus 1

So all the work on the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, was completed. The Israelites did everything just as the LORD commanded Moses. – Exodus 39:32

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 27, 2012): Exodus 39

Back when I was a student in Junior High School, my class was assigned a project. The idea was that the class would visit an old Fort that had been preserved from the nineteenth century. It would take us about ninety minutes each way (three hours on a school bus) but I anxiously looked forward to the outing. And while we were there exploring the fort, we would take pictures and measurements of everything so that when we returned to the school we would be able to rebuild a model of the fort. Actually, the teachers plan was ingenious. While we thought we were having fun exploring a fort, we were actually learning about life in the old west. While we thought we were building a scale model of a fort, we were actually learning about life in the days of our great-great grandparents – as well as a hands-on lesson about the use of saws and other woodworking tools. We had fallen squarely into the plot of our teacher. We would have fun, but we would also learn some important lessons.

The work on the Tabernacle was finished. It probably took them just under six months to get the job done. There was a lot of hard work that had gone into the venture. But the project was not really about building a sacred house. What the workers did not know was that everything that they were doing was really about building a nation. In the process of building the sacred house, the former slaves of Egypt began to understand how much they could accomplish when they committed to work together – and they had the opportunity to learn about the God who had taken them out of slavery.

When we resist community, when we refuse the opportunity to volunteer together at some task, we are the real losers. Our lack of involvement is the real reason why some of us have stopped growing and understanding the world in which we live – as well as the God who created it. When we expect to be served, rather than look for opportunities to serve, we remove one of the avenues that God has to shape us – and make us into the people, and the masterpiece, that God has always intended us to be. When we are involved in project in the middle of community, there is no end to the things that we can learn, both about each other and about God.

There is nothing new about any of this, and maybe that is the most important lesson my teacher taught me as I took measurements and pictures of an old fort – that when we accomplish things together, there is more to it than just the project that we are trying to accomplish.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Exodus 40

Personal Note: Happy 53^rd Anniversary to my Mom and Dad.

All the tent pegs of the tabernacle and of the surrounding courtyard were bronze. – Exodus 38:20

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 26, 2012): Exodus 38

A few years ago, I bought some furniture. Now, it was used furniture and I wanted it for my basement, so I did not have a lot of expectations about what I was purchasing, but I have to admit that the furniture did look good. It had been lightly used and it was perfect for my needs. But it did not take long for the furniture to start to show problems. I guess in a house with a couple of teenage children (and all of their friends) the furniture was no longer being used ‘lightly.’ And the first problems to appear were all of the places where the manufacturer had cut some corners. They were the places that had originally been hidden, but now the hidden was being revealed.

Our attitude is often that if people cannot see it, then it really does not matter. And the principle seems to apply to so many areas of our lives. A while back a friend asked me if it was okay to lie on a résumé. After all, it was the job that he was going to do that really mattered. As long as he did a good job, who cared what his work history was like. It was hidden and, therefore, it did not matter.

We feel the same way about the things that we do inside of our castles. The home is a sacred place and what happens there is no one’s business. And neither are the hidden sins in our lives. As long as no one knows, and we can look okay when we are in public – then what does it really matter what things are hidden underneath? But the reality in which I live is this – just like my furniture, the wear and stress of life will soon inevitably reveal what had been hidden. The secrets, in some way or other, will be exposed.

As God gives the plans for his tabernacle, there is no area that could be overlooked. Even the tent pegs, which would be hidden the dirt, were to be made of a specified material – in this case bronze. The use of bronze was because it was the hardest substance known at the time. Where the builders would have used stone, bronze became a longer lasting and harder (as well as a more expensive) alternative. Even when the Bronze Age began to yield to the Iron Age, the change would not be because iron was a better substance. Iron would begin to reign because it was more plentiful to find and easier to produce. But bronze was still, in many ways, superior.

But God wanted even the things that were hidden to be of the best quality for the job. And I think the example holds for the tabernacle, the things that we make with our hands, and even the way that we live our lives. As hard a thought as this might be, we are to live with the sure knowledge that one day the hidden will be revealed.

    

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Exodus 39

They made the lampstand of pure gold and hammered it out, base and shaft; its flowerlike cups, buds and blossoms were of one piece with it. – Exodus 37:17

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 25, 2012): Exodus 37

In T. H. White’s “The Once and Future King” there is a scene where Guinevere is sent into the Northern England with Mordred as the Lord Protector while Arthur reluctantly is off hunting Lancelot. In the scene, darkness falls on the land (it is late winter and the darkness is still arriving early) and Guinevere asks her attendant Agnes if it is possible to get some light. Agnes moves to get the rushlights to add light to the room and Guinevere bemoans the fact that they do not have any candles in the northern territories – that she would have to make do with the rushlights. What she really wants are the candles of home, but here, it is only rushlights.

It is a bit of an odd comment for us in our more advanced world. For most of us light comes from the flipping of a switch. Oh, sometimes we still light our candles, but it is more about ambience then actually needing the light that the candle gives to us. And rushlights are totally unknown. But it has not always been that way.

So God tells Israel how he wanted the tabernacle to be lit. They were to make lampstands of pure gold. Normally the candle sticks of this era would have been made of wood and then overlaid with gold or silver, but not in the tabernacle. In the tabernacle the light would be the purest possible, and it would arise out of lampstands that were just as pure. And there were no rushlights allowed.

The tabernacle and its gold lampstands are long gone now, as are the poor rushlights of Northern England, but commentators have commented that the pure light of the tabernacle has been replaced by the light that now comes out of the Bible. Now it is the light that shines on our path, a light that is purer than any other light that we can imagine – and lights the way through our darkness.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Exodus 38

All the skilled men among the workmen made the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim worked into them by a skilled craftsman. – Exodus 36:8

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 24, 2012): Exodus 36

The image of the shepherd is deeply engrained in the Biblical story. It is the background story to the greatest king the nation of Israel knew – David. The image of the shepherd is central in the one of the best known poems of the Bible – the Twenty-Third or Shepherds Psalm. It was shepherds that the angels came to announcing the birth of the Messiah. And even Jesus taught, and was compared to, a good shepherd. The shepherd motif is strong from the beginning of the book of God until the end. This is in contrast to other similar stories where the gods of the nations lived in palaces and ruled in power. The God of the Bible is described as a shepherd, a common, even lowly, labourer that understands the plight of the working man.

And his first dwelling place reflected that understanding. The temple of God did not start off in an ornate building with a lofty design. There were no spires pointing toward the heaven of God. There was just a tent that consisted of ten curtains. Oh, there is no doubt that the fabric of the tent was of the finest quality. Blue, purple and scarlet materials have been used for royalty throughout antiquity because it was the hardest, and therefore costliest, to produce. It was to be finely twisted, again indicating the best quality. But it was still just a tent.

But it was also the perfect dwelling place for the shepherd God. It is somehow amazing that the Creator of everything found his dwelling place in a tent. But in this God relates with all of us who struggle to make ends meet. He becomes the God of people who know what it is like to work with their hands, and at night the ones that come home not exactly smelling quite right.  And sometimes all of that makes me wonder what ever made us believe that God is honored by our Sunday best.

The tent of God would last through several generations. It was the only place of God that Israel would know through the desert wanderings, the only worship place throughout the time of Joshua and then Samuel and the Judges and finally through the first two Kings of Israel – Saul and David. Through all of this time, God dwelt in a finely crafted tent. And maybe that is something as hard working people that we need to take comfort in.

          

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Exodus 37

All who are skilled among you are to come and make everything the LORD has commanded … Exodus 35:10

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 23, 2012): Exodus 35

Maybe one of the drawbacks of the professional priesthood is the expectation that everything in the church should be done by the paid staff. I get a little frustrated with churches that seem to have the attitude that all that they want is our money while they hire the workers that they need. I think it robs us of some important things that the rest of us have to offer. God has gifted all of us in the church, not just the paid priesthood. And I think that to take the opportunity to serve away from the gifted volunteer goes against the plan that God has for us.

God’s instructions for the tabernacle were very specific. The people were to bring what they had, including their talents, so that the tabernacle could be built and equipped. God had given a plan to the people, and he had given the means to complete the plan as well. They had everything that they needed - all of the precious metals, jewels and all of the talents needed to shape them into the things that God had commanded. And only some of the talents came from the priests. The rest came from the various tribes of Israel – the volunteers of God with other trades and jobs inside the community.

There is an old saying that says that “if it is God’s will, then it is God’s bill.” It means that God will never ask for anything that he has not already given us the means to achieve – both from a financial point of view and from a talent point of view. The big but in the promise is that we have to be willing to give our possessions and our talents. And we also have to be willing to accept the talents as a community – no matter whom it is that is doing the offering.

God has called us to be a change agent in the world. He has blessed us so that we can be a blessing in the world. And he has given to his church everything that we need to complete the task, both in the paid professionals and in the volunteers that fill the pews. And it will take all of us to complete that task.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Exodus 36

Then the LORD said: “I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the LORD, will do for you. – Exodus 34:10

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 22, 2012): Exodus 34

I am convinced that life is created for us to live in community, that from the very beginning the healthy part of us is drawn into partnerships and relationships, that there is something deep inside of us that really needs people. God, who exists only in community, created us in his image, and we are never so much like God as when we pause to embrace each other. I also recognize, probably because I am a bit of an introvert, that the community part of life is not always easy for a lot of us. It is something that does not come natural; we have to press ourselves in order to achieve it. The relationship hurts and disappointments always threaten to tear us away from community rather than toward it. And I know, because even as I write these words I am feeling the tension.

But faith has also always had an individual bent to it. It is found in the conversations that God had with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day in the Garden of Eden. It is present in the conversations that the patriarchs had with their God as he taught them and shaped them and moved them toward being who he had created them to be. And it is found in the story of Moses, beginning with the incident before the burning bush and continuing on through the birth of the nation of Israel. And here he speaks directly to Moses and not to the community. The words he speaks are that he is making a covenant with Moses. God was making a corporate commitment to the nation of Israel, but wrapped up in that commitment was a personal promise that God was making to the man called Moses. And in return Moses was committing himself to God. It is the way a covenant works, two parties committed to each other.

A few weeks ago I told my church that I was sure that God loves and is committed to our church. We are not the only faith community that God is committed to, but I do not want to water it down in any way. God is committed to our community. But that commitment starts with the commitment that he makes to us individually and the return commitment that we make to him.

And it is through this covenant that God will build his community – and his church. It is through this commitment that God performs his wonders, and that we realize that he is truly God.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Exodus 35

When the people heard these distressing words, they began to mournand no one put on any ornaments. - Exodus 33:4

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 21, 2012): Exodus 33

I remember the day that my mom got her ears pierced. That is probably not a memory that a lot of men have, but it is one of mine. I think I remember the day because of my mom’s reaction to the event. Even though she wanted to get her ears pierced, she was worried about what her mom (and my grandma) would think. Today my grandmother wears clip on ear rings, but I have a feeling (not a memory) that then grandma did not wear any ear decorations. So my mother was caught between the desire for something and the fear that her mom would not approve. The fear of disapproval probably extended back to an avoidance of excessive make-up and jewelry characteristic of some Christian churches in the first half of the twentieth century. I am not sure I understood that belief, and on some level I also wondered if there was an age when you stopped worrying about the approval of your parents. (Since then I have learned the answer to that question – and it is no.)

But whether or not I understood it, the avoidance of jewelry was a reality for a number of our Christian ancestors. I think that I always thought it was just another example of a rule for the sake of having a rule – that there was no solid reasoning behind it. But now I am beginning to wonder if maybe there was a reason.

Israel had sinned. In building a false god to replace the real God, they had done was actually to commit an act of treason against God. And treason is still the one crime that will get you executed in most areas of the world. So God tells Israel that he will send them to the land that he had promised to them, but that he would not go with them. And the reason that he would not go with them was that they were a stiff-necked people – a treacherous people that deserved nothing but death – but God loved them enough to want them to live. So he was willing to remove righteousness (himself) from the situation – God was willing to stay behind so that Israel could live.

And the people’s response to God’s decree was to remove their jewelry, to take off their ear rings and in attitude of repentance ask God to come with them. And that was what I missed about the no jewelry rule. It was not arbitrary, it was not done out of an attitude that jewelry was somehow evil, but rather out of an act of repentance and a recognition that we are still a treacherous people that deserve nothing but death, but that we also still desire God to go with us.

And that is the center of the Gospel story. Jesus takes our treachery and places it on himself, so that we can walk with God. And with or without jewelry, we walk with our Creator and allow him to recreate us from the treacherous people that we seem to be bent toward being into the work of art that God imagined when he first created us.

  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Exodus 34

Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” – Exodus 32:2

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 20, 2012): Exodus 32

Where did you get your stuff? I think of all of the questions that we might ask ourselves; this might be one of the trickier ones. I mean, the answer really seems to be so simple. For most of us the things that we have are the products of our work and the effort we have expended in life. So it is easy to think that the things that we possess, our stuff, came from us. But the Bible would argue that because God has given us all of our abilities that really all of our stuff belongs to God. We are just stewards or caretakers of the things that he has given to us.

Maybe in the Exodus story, that fact is a little more obvious. One of the questions that you have to wonder about is where did the Israelite slaves get the gold and silver jewelry? That is, until we remember that earlier in the story God made the Egyptians receptive to Israel, and that they gave the people of Israel some of their jewelry. The gold and silver that the people were now willing sacrifice for the making of a new God had not been originally theirs. God had miraculously given the jewelry to them. And maybe that made the making of the idol even more sinful. Israel was about to take what had been given to them by God, to create something that would replace God.

Maybe that is exactly what we do with the things that we own. It seems so easy for the blessings that have come to us from the hands of God, to become the idols that threaten to tear us away from God. It is so easy to serve money instead of God, ironically the same money that God gave to us in the first the place.

Tomorrow’s scripture Reading: Exodus 33

“Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the LORD, who makes you holy.’ – Exodus 31:13

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 19, 2012): Exodus 31

Growing up, if there was one commandment that I came to resent, it was the fourth commandment. The fourth commandment is the commandment that says that the Sabbath day must be kept holy. The idea is that there is six days to get all of the stuff done, but the Sabbath is to be set apart – it is supposed to be a different kind of day.  But my problem with the day was the way that the leaders of the church seemed to define it. To them, this commandment seemed to mean that you could not do anything fun on Sunday. When I went to church camps, sports were forbidden on Sunday because it needed to be kept holy and set apart. And as a kid it just seemed to be a boring day. As I grew up, I began to realize that most of what people telling me what it was that I could do on Sunday were misunderstanding the fourth commandment. And I discovered a couple things.

One of the things that I discovered was that the original Sabbath was Saturday (and that is the reason why the old style calendars start with Sunday and end with Saturday. I have calendars that start with Monday and end with Sunday but, to be honest, they just succeed in confusing me.) So the first question that people misunderstood was the day that we called the Sabbath. And they missed the reason that the Christian Church changed the day. The reason why Christians started to meet on Sunday was because Jesus rose from death to life on Sunday. And in the age of Christ and of grace, it is not just the Sabbath that was holy – every day was holy.

 A second misunderstanding that I discovered about the Sabbath was that Jesus did not agree with the religious leaders of his day on what the Sabbath was all about (and I was pretty sure that he did not agree with the religious leaders of my day either.) In fact, the fourth commandment is the only commandment that Jesus never restated in his teaching. And what they had misunderstood and what we still misunderstand is the purpose of the Sabbath. The Sabbath recognizes that God is God and that he is in control. And while it is so tempting to think, even today, that we need to work seven days a week to survive, God says “trust me, let me show you that you are in my hands and that I am still in control.” The Sabbath was a day that we could pause and recognize that God was still the one that was in control. But a second purpose of the Sabbath was that we were made for the Sabbath. We have proven that to really live healthy lives, we all need a day off, a day when we do not work and just pause to enjoy everything around us that God has created.

We are still a people in need of the Sabbath. And my prayer is that we will experience the kind of Sabbath that honors God and yet still revives us – his creation.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Exodus 32

Make two gold rings for the altar below the molding—two on opposite sides—to hold the poles used to carry it. – Exodus 30:4

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 18, 2012): Exodus 30

In ancient Egypt there were actually two ways that a Pharaoh would move about the country. If he was going to war or involved in a sport then the Pharaoh would either ride in a chariot with a driver or may even be the driver of the chariot. When speed was important, speed was also available. But that was not the only way that the Pharaoh would travel.

When speed was not important, then the Pharaoh would have been carried by trusted servants on a raised chair. The reason for the alternate form of travel might have been twofold. Maybe one of the reasons was simply that the Pharaoh would have been easier to be seen when he was carried on a raised chair. The Pharaoh himself was a symbol of justice and equality for all of the Egyptian citizens, so he was a symbol that needed to be seen. But another reason was that when he was carried on a chair by his servants he was actually in a more stable position; it would be less likely that the Pharaoh could be hurt by an unexpected bump or hole in the road.

The generation of Israelites that God was beginning to mold into a nation grew up watching the Egyptians Pharaohs. They were the only royalty that Israel had ever really known. And what they had seen was that Royalty was carried. God was designing the nation of Israel to be a theocracy, a nation ruled by God – a nation where God served as the king. And the seat of God on earth, a God that would come to symbolize equality and justice, was the Ark of the Covenant. So the Ark would be carried in the same manner as the only king that Israel had known – the Pharaohs of Egypt.

God is many things to us; he is father, mother, friend, confident, Savior, comforter, but among all of the attributes we must not forget that he is King – and, one day, all nations will bow down to him – the God who is the King of kings.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Exodus 31

Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water. – Exodus 29:4

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 17, 2012): Exodus 29

I attended a graduation ceremony a couple of days ago for my son, Craig, who has just graduated with his Bachelor of Arts Degree from a local University. During the ceremony I was impressed with what the president of the University had to say about the learning process. He reminded those that were about to Graduate with various degrees that their learning process was not over – it had just begun. Some of the graduates, my son included, were going on to other educational institutions and further degrees. Others would now enter the job market and, hopefully, get to put their degrees to work. Still others would take some time off and go travel the world. But whatever the graduate’s plans were, they would keep learning – because learning is integral to the living of this life.

I was hit with the truth of the message. It is a message that has often come from of my lips and it was good once again to hear the message coming from other leaders. Life is all about learning. No matter what the level of education is that you aspire to, learning continues long after the last exam of the last class. We have to continue to stretch ourselves – we have to continue to learn.

But, in some ways, it is against our expectations. Repeatedly I hear employers who want to hire people who are educated and experienced because they will ‘know what to do.’ We want people in the positions around us to be experts – not students. But that is not reality. In fact, it might be the biggest mistake we could make.

I love this passage because it is a reminder that the priests were human, they were sinful, and I believe that they were still learning. They did not arrive on the scene perfect, but imperfect. They did not arrive clean, but in need of washing. It would become a practice that they would repeat throughout their ministries, each time recognizing their imperfections and their need to learn more about God.

We do not do anyone any favors when we pretend that we know everything. People need to know that we are imperfect, still learning and still in need of washing. No matter how much we know, this is the reality of life. And there is nothing wrong with that, in fact, it is the way it is supposed to be.

  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Exodus 30

Have Aaron your brother brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, so they may serve me as priests. – Exodus 28:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 16, 2012): Exodus 28

The movie “Courageous” centers its plot on a group of men that decide that they will be the leaders of their responsibility. They will be the husbands and fathers that their families need desperately. In essence, they will become the pastors and spiritual leaders that God has called them to be right in their own homes.

It is a very old idea. Up until the beginning of the building of the tabernacle, it was expected that the father would be the priest of the family. He would be the one responsible for taking care of the spiritual needs of the family – not just the physical needs. Today we sometimes think that the idea of the father as priest is more than a little archaic – and often it is more likely for the mother that will take on the task of being the spiritual leader. And the change seems to link back to the beginning of the official priesthood – as God set up the terms for a professional priesthood, the fathers seemed to consider themselves released from the responsibility. And we have been suffering for that lack ever since.

Maybe it is an artifact from a patristic society that is slowly fading into the past, but experience still points to the need for fathers to be involved in the spiritual life of their families if the children are to exude a healthy spirituality. Or maybe in a culture that increasingly values equality between the sexes; the reality is that it takes both a mom and a dad to be the spiritual leaders of the family.

No matter what the reason, the evidence suggests that we need more than just a “professional” priesthood for the spiritual health of our families – fathers have to get involved. It is not that the professional priesthood is unnecessary any more than mothers are – it simply takes us all.

Tomorrow is Father’s Day – and a group of local fathers are going to commit to be the fathers and spiritual leaders that God has called them to be. And I am proud of every one of them.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Exodus 29

In the Tent of Meeting, outside the curtain that is in front of the Testimony, Aaron and his sons are to keep the lamps burning before the LORD from evening till morning. This is to be a lasting ordinance among the Israelites for the generations to come. – Exodus 27:21

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 15, 2012): Exodus 27

It seems that our house is very seldom empty. Over the past few years, as my kids have grown older, there always seems to be somebody at home. I am afraid that family vacations are a thing of the past. This summer it is just my wife and I that will be going away and our son will be home. But it has not always been that way. In the past, there have always been times when the house would sit empty for a period of time during the summer. The family would be away, hopefully spending some quality time at a beach enjoying the sun. And during those times I would sometimes worry about my empty house. So we would employ a device that would turn our lights on and off giving the impression that somebody was home, even when we were away.

I like having lights on in the house even when I am home. My wife has tried to train me to turn off the lights when I leave a room, but especially in the winter when darkness seems to rule, there is something comforting to me to be able to wander through the rooms of my house with the lights already lit. Somehow it just seems a little warmer – even if it is less green.

God instructs Aaron and his sons, those that would be ordained as the priests of God throughout the coming centuries, that they were to literally keep the lights burning in the tabernacle (and later the temple) throughout the night. The command would actual ensure that two things would happen. The first and probably most important accomplishment of the lamps was that the light served as a reminder that God was always present – even in the darkest part of the night. But the second thing that the lamps accomplished was that it required a priest to work through the night. The work of God was never finished – and he is not only present through our nights, but he is awake and active.

While the gods of other nations were known to take holidays or go to sleep, the God of Israel stayed awake. He was always present and always at work, accomplishing his goals even when his creation had committed themselves to a nightly rest. God was truly able to watch over Israel because he was always alert – and always awake – giving his creation the confidence to fall asleep.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Exodus 28

Make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen, with - cherubim worked into it by a skilled craftsman. – Exodus 26:31

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 14, 2012): Exodus 26

There were two curtains, or veils, that protected the Tabernacle and all of the treasures that were held within the walls of the tent. There would be no wooden doors, no locks, absolutely nothing that would deter a thief from stealing the valuable gold and silver artifacts hidden inside. Just a couple of curtains.

The one advantage possessed by the tabernacle was that no one knew exactly what was hidden behind those two, royally colored and designed heavy cloth curtains, because no one but the priests would ever venture behind either of the curtains. There would be no sightseeing tours; no visiting dignitaries would ever be invited to look upon the tabernacles wealth. Unless you were a priest, there was no reason for you ever to venture into the land of the curtains.

The first curtain would have divided the tabernacle proper from the courts where the people would have gathered. It was the beginning of the ‘priests only’ land. It was in this place that the priests ministered with no other audience than God himself. It was a place where incense of burned and waved, where sacrifices were made and where blood was poured, but a place where no one would ever witness any of these events. The priests of the tabernacle did not do any of these things for the praise of man – but only as part of their solemn worship before God.

The second curtain separated the tabernacle proper from the Holy of Holies. And no one ventured inside of the Holy of Holies except for the high priest – and he would only go beyond the second curtain once a year. It was there that the Ark of the covenant would be kept, the place that was considered to be the very seat of God. And in the seat of the ark would be some of the most precious artifacts of the nation – eventually containing the two stone tablets of the ten commandments and a jar of manna from the desert wanderings. The protection of the artifacts was dependant on the level of secrecy the priests would maintain – and the vigilance of the priests as they watched over the tabernacle.

But what the protection system of the tabernacle missed was the most valuable treasure that Israel possessed - the people of God. God knew, at that point in time, that the people of Israel were not ready to learn of their value. They were still slaves being retrained so that someday they would be able to recognize the incredible treasure that they were to God – that they were the beloved creation of God.

Centuries later Jesus would die on a cross and the message of the cross is all about God’s love for us. Not God’s love for his temple or his tabernacle, not God’s love for a system of laws, not even God’s love for a single nation, but God’s love for all of us – that we were valuable enough to justify his death. And so it is maybe not surprising that at the moment of his death, the veil was torn. The curtain that hid the Holy of Holies bare from the rest of the Temple (built to the same basic plan as the Tabernacle) was ripped from top to bottom revealing the secrets that they were built to hide (of course, by this time, the valuables had all been stolen.) But what Jesus revealed was that what was really important all along was us – and that our value is so great that Jesus died and we gained access through the veil and that we were now welcome to step into the very presence of God.

      

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Exodus 27

Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from each man whose heart prompts him to give. – Exodus 25:2

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 13, 2012): Exodus 25

I believe in the tithe, the giving of ten percent of our income to the God through the church. I think that it is not just an archaic Old Testament phenomenon, but economically it is the way that God has designed us to operate. I sincerely believe that everything financially works better if we follow the plan that God has intended for us. And yes, that means that the church has the responsibility to use that money to support the purpose of making this world a better place. If those of us who believe in God’s way could only learn this one truth, we could see a massive change in this world. But what I do not believe is that the tithe is the pinnacle of what are to do with our money. The pinnacle is when we learn to be generous with everything that we possess.

In regards to our money, that is what God has asked us to be – generous. God requires us to be willing to use what he has given to us and change this world one person at a time. It is not just ten percent, it is an attitude that considers everything that we possess to be God’s – and we are just his stewards.

God instructs in the very beginning that the Israelites should bring their offering to God. And from these offerings a change would start in Israel. Their relationship with God would be much more than just a personal association. As the tabernacle (and later the temple) was built with all of the things that went with it, Israel gained a sense of nationhood that they would never have known without God. It changed the way that they would walk into the future – and the way that a nation would care for the less fortunate among them.

We may not live in the same kind of theocracy that was ancient Israel, but God’s expectation is still the same. We will identify with God through our giving and through the way that we spend what we have to take care of the poor among us, and as a result our world will be forever changed.

     

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Exodus 26

Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, “We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey.” – Exodus 24:7

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 12, 2012): Exodus 24

One of the things that I find that I do during a break in my life (vacations or retreats) is to decide what changes I need to make in the way that I live life. When everything pauses, even for a short time, it seems to be just a great time to evaluate exactly what it is that you are doing. And it is a time when I can reorganize the way that I go about doing things.

And so I often come up with great plans – I can make the decisions about the things that I need to change in my routine, but my problem is always the follow through. I can tell myself (and others) that I need to make a change. But saying that I will change is different from actually living out the changes that I have committed to make. It is not that I am lazy or evil, but habit has a hold on me that is greater than I sometimes realize. I want to change in the pauses of my life, but when the action restarts I find that there is a strong tendency to want to just go back to doing things the way I have always done them. Breaking the force of habit takes more than just making the plans to do things differently. I have to continually make the effort to re-evaluate what it is that I am doing, I have to keep short lists with myself (or quick evaluations of my life), continually reminding myself of the changes that I need to make.

As Moses receives the law from God, Moses speaks the law to the nation of Israel. And Israel’s response was that they would do whatever it was that the law demanded. But obedience is an action, not words to be spoken. It was going to take more than just a verbal commitment to make the change. And again, it is not because Israel was lazy or evil, but the force of habit gained from living life the way that they had been forced to live it was going to be hard to overcome. A commitment was necessary, not only to the law but to keeping short lists as they pursued their new commitment to life.

It is just the nature of trying to make serious change in our lives. Words are just not enough. Serious change requires serious commitment and serious discipline. It also takes the commitment to the keeping of short lists – the commitment to frequent evaluations of our lives and the ability to be honest with ourselves and recognize the times when we fall short. And, successful change requires the willingness to pick ourselves up one more time and try again.

      

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Exodus 25

Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd… - Exodus 23:2

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 11, 2012): Exodus 23

We do not seem to like dissenting voices. We want the unanimous decision. It is as if a unanimous decision makes the decision the right one. But what we sometimes fail to realize is that justice requires dissenting voices. That thought is the basis for our confrontational criminal justice system. The question in times of obvious moral failure is often ‘how can you defend someone like that?’ How can that be justice? But the answer has to be that real justice is impossible without someone standing on the other side of the table asking questions about the morality of the events taking place – even in defense of the ones that, in our opinion, are obviously in the wrong.

A unanimous decision often presents a problem because it is an indication that the people involved are not really after justice. It is relatively easy to coerce a vote to go in a certain direction. Unanimous decisions in history have happened because people have been bribed or bullied into conforming to the majority opinion. It is the plot of our fictional crime stories about the jury that comes to the needed unanimous decision because the few dissenting voices were belittled or bored. But due diligence means making sure that we are asking the appropriate questions about the situation – it means we are not silencing the dissenter.

The existence of protest lines in our culture is a symptom of true justice. They represent the questions that are being asked by a segment of society. Dissenting questions and protests seldom happen in a totalitarian society – and when they do the military immediately silences the questions.

God’s word to Moses was not to create a society where questions could not be asked - that dissenting opinions were a valuable avenue to justice. Even if it was only one voice standing alone and  that voice needs to be listened to and honored. Because without the questions that that voice is asking, justice is ultimately impossible. 

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Exodus 24

If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not be like a moneylender; charge him no interest. – Exodus 22:25

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 10, 2012): Exodus 22

There is a debt crisis in Africa. Some have called it a debt cancer. No matter what we do to try and stop the spread of the cancer, it just seems to keep spreading. No help seems to be enough and every interested person has a different solution in regard to what should be done. A decade ago, the nations of Africa had paid more in interest in the previous three decades then they had owed. The interest load on the nations had kept them from addressing other issues such as hunger and the AIDS epidemic. Now, it is true that the situation is more complex and structural change is needed in many African nations, but that does not mean that there is not a serious problem. Nations where the average person earns less than two dollars a day owe millions of dollars in national debt. It is a problem that should disturb us.

The European debt crisis seems to be a different matter. In Europe it seems to be more of a budgeting problem – one that could be solved by changes in expenditures. Yes, it would hurt, but in the long run it is possible. In Africa and some of the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) that kind of solution just is not possible – it will not work. In recent years, the Western nations have made moves to alleviate the debt of the HIPC of the third world (or maybe better phrased as the Majority World Nations.) But the problem is far from fixed.

The solution of the Mosaic Law when it came to the poor was simple. Be generous with them; give to the poor and honor them as the precious creation of God. And when you lend, do not charge interest. Do not get rich on the backs of the poor. This is part of what the Bible would call being socially responsible.

And we all need to live lives that are responsible. Our actions toward the poor reveal a lot about both who we are and what kind of a future we share with our society, And if it is going to be a prosperous future, it will have to be a society that has made the conscious choice to be socially responsible as well.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Exodus 23

But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise. – Exodus 21:23-25

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 9, 2012): Exodus 21

I am not a supporter of the death penalty in most circumstances, and it is partly because of the intense value that I place on life. It just seems wrong to take a life, no matter what the reason. But that is only part of the reason. It seems to me that capital punishment has been applied to a number of inappropriate crimes over the history of mankind. And often it was a penalty that was only applied to people outside of the ruling culture. That has been the argument against the death penalty in North America in recent years. It just seems to detractors of capital punishment that there has been a higher percentage of minorities that have found their way to death row than probability would allow. It is a justice question that we have to come to terms with.

In the past, capital punishment has been used to remove unwanted population elements, as a solution for political opposition, and as the penalty for a number of sexual crimes. It has been used as the penalty for religious apostasy and in some cases for stealing and cowardice. But the question is – which are the crimes that are worthy of the death penalty.

And that is the question that Mosaic laws sought answer. In the case of serious crimes, the penalty would be limited by the infraction. It was a way of making sure that the punishment truly fit the crime. It did not necessarily mean that the maximum penalty would have to be applied, but it could not be exceeded. And in an imperfect world, it was the start of a plan in regard to criminal punishment.

I am not a supporter of the death penalty, but it is not that I do not believe that some crimes deserve the penalty. In extreme cases, death may be warranted. But my problem is that I am not always sure that we really know what happened. And as long as there is the slightest doubt (and unless there is a solid confession from the perpetrator, there is always a measure of doubt) then the penalty just is not worth it. For me, if there is the risk of even one innocent person to be executed, then the risk is too great. And as a Christian, I have the added responsibility grace.

In practice, Mosaic Law was intended to provide the framework for our criminal punishment. But grace has always been at its heart. The punishment for crime, if possible, should never preclude the chance of future grace. Sometimes death is necessary, but when it is not, then grace can somehow be extended.  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Exodus 22

Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. – Exodus 20:12

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 8, 2012): Exodus 20

I am so indebted to my parents. There is so much of who I am that is because of them. And, I have to admit, that one of the things that can cause me pain is the idea that I am somehow letting them down. If you want to criticize me with words that will hurt, it is not hard to find the words – just remind me of the dishonor that my behavior is bringing on my name and on my parents. It is the last thing that I want to do.

My parents have taught me so much about life and about what is important. It is something that we never really understand in the early stages of our lives. When we are young parents are just obstacles to all of the fun that we think that we want to have. Then we just do not believe that our parents really get it. But as we get older we realize that it is really us that have failed to comprehend how to live our lives.

The fifth commandment has been noted to be the only one of the commandments that comes with a promise. God tells Moses that we should teach our children (and ourselves) to honor our parents so that the future will go well with us. And part of that promise is just that our parents deserve honor because they are the ones upon whom we depended in the early years of our lives. Without the protection and love of our parents, we would never have made it through childhood. But it is more than just a respect issue. Our parents are in the unique position of being able to teach us from the mistakes that they have made. And if we will learn, we will be in a position of advantage.

I am grateful for the things that I have learned from my parents, and for the opportunity to watch them live. And I have also had the opportunity to watch their parents and learn from them. It has been a gift that has been given to me by God. And I want my parents and my grandparents to know that I do honor them, and am very thankful that they are in my life.

Today, my grandmother turns 100. Thanks grandma for what you have taught my father – and me.   

  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Exodus 21

‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. – Exodus 19:4

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 7, 2012): Exodus 19

Did you know that there is no way that a bumble bee should be able to fly? Aerodynamically there is no way that the wings of a bumble bee should be able to maintain the bee in the air – the wings are just too thin and too fragile to take something the size of a bumble bee and move it unsupported through empty space. And I do not know about you, but I have heard a number of preachers over my lifetime make that assertion. Therefore we know that the only way a bumble bee can fly is because God has ordained that the bee can fly and if God is willing to move a bee through the air by the power of his hand, how much more does God want to take care of you. And there is only one thing wrong with everything I have just said. It just is not true.

A bumble bee is aerodynamically designed for flight. Okay, it is not designed for flight in the same way that bird is, or in the same way that a plane is, but it is still designed to fly. The technical reason why a bumble bee can fly is because the oscillation of wings creates dynamic stall with every beat of the wings. The dynamic stall creates a small vortex or a circular movement of air that almost sucks the bumble bee into its flight. It may be different flight from other things that we know fly, but it is still flight.

God reminds Israel of the things that he has done. And probably the first thing that Israel would think of was the crossing of the Red Sea, or the plagues that had come on the kingdom of Egypt. But I am not sure that that was the totality of what God meant. I think God wanted Israel to see all of the abnormal things that had happened, and recognize that it was God that was the author of all of that was strange and marvelous. But at the same time to look at the normal things of life and recognize the hand of God even in those events. How great is a God who created a bird to fly and a hummingbird that does the same thing differently. How great is a God that creates both the flight of the eagle and of the bumble bee.

God moves in the special times of your life, but maybe the bigger miracle happens when we begin to see the hand of God in the normal, everyday things. We do not need to invent a bumble bee that can only fly because God throws it through the air. What we need are eyes that witness the hand of God in all of the things, both strange and normal, in this life.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Exodus 20

Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. – Exodus 18:17

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 6, 2012): Exodus 18

A friend of mine recently commented that he liked chess because no two games ever seemed to come out the same. There are an almost an unlimited number of problems to be solved, and an equal number of possible solutions to the problems presented. The frustration is that with every move, with every possible solution you open yourself up to other problems. And that is really the game of chess. It is feint and attack, defend while searching for an opening to go on the offensive, all the time knowing that every move can take you closer to disaster.

   

There have been some seasons of my life when I have heard a lot of complaints. We are well taught by our culture. But what I hear less frequently are real solutions to problems – and a maturity to recognize that every solution comes with its own limitations. It is as if we think that coming up with the complaint is where our job ends – that it is up to someone else to find the perfect solution (a solution that rarely even exists.) And, just like in chess, there seems to be an unwillingness to realize that there are both positives and negatives that accompany every solution.

Jethro, Moses father-in-law, saw a problem and registered his complaint – what you are doing is not good. It was a proper evaluation of what it was that he saw. But he was not willing to just leave it there. He had an answer. And like all real life answers, there were both positive and negative aspects to the solution. On the positive, the load that Moses had taken on his shoulders could be balanced among more leaders, and in turn more leaders would be developed. But the negative was that there would also be more distance produced between Moses as the visible leader of the nation and the people.

But Moses also knew the truth of Jethro’s judgment. The most important part of the equation was that he could not maintain the path he was on for long – and while neither Jethro nor Moses realized how long the path would be, a change was needed.

Often that is where we find ourselves when threatened with a problem. We know we have to move and change, but maybe it is our immaturity that keeps us looking for the perfect solution. And that solution often does not exist. Every answer has a downside, but that is okay, because today’s answer to any problem is only the first step of the journey anyway.

The secret to our success will always be a series of solutions to the problems that are set in front of us. Now if I can just remember that secret for my chess games.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Exodus 19

As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. – Exodus 17:11

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 5, 2012): Exodus 17

One of my earliest lessons on leadership was that leadership was seldom something obtained by position. True leaders are created only by those who are willing to follow them. I have known a number of people who thought that they only needed position in order to lead. But the result is usually an empty and unproductive department. The adage is that if there is no one following you, you are nothing more than a person out for a walk. Leaders are created by their followers, and there is really no other way.

So, a good leader leads by being the visible example to those who choose to follow. I have to admit that there are a few ways right now that I wish I was a better leader; that is, I wish that people were following me a little more in some of the things that I am doing. But I realize two things about my leadership. I need to get better at inspiring those around me to be a positive difference in the world in which they live and I need to make sure that I am not leading in a vacuum – I need to make sure that I lead as people can see me.

Moses was the leader of Israel. He was never voted into the position. There was no search committee that was ever formed to go and search for the best leader that they could find. No invitation was ever issued by Israel to ask him to come and be their leader. In fact, in a strict sense there was not even a leadership position for Moses to fill. Moses became the leader of Israel because God called him, and because he became a visible symbol of all that God was trying to do in Israel.

So when the fledgling nation had to pick up arms to defend themselves against those that wanted to destroy them, Moses act of leadership was simply to remain visible. It seemed that as long as Moses was seen with his arms in the air, the people were reminded of what God was doing and the battle went well. But when he lowered his arms he became less visible and people floundered.

As leaders, we need to be seen by those around us. There are people around you that need to see you doing the right thing and, through your actions, receive the challenge to go and make this world a better place. We are all leaders of someone, and all of us have people around us that are just waiting to see what moves we are going to make, and hopefully through those moves be reminded of everything that God is doing in our world.

   

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Exodus 18